Family Dinner
The implications struck him with the force of a physical blow. He thought it might be an immortal, perhaps? A being wielding power beyond comprehension, trapped within this shard? The thought sent a shiver down his spine.
Manipulating time, twisting fate—such abilities defied even the most powerful cultivators he knew of. Yet this fragment, this seemingly insignificant piece of metal, had done just that. What if it was whole?
The question echoed in his mind, a terrifying whisper that dared him to imagine a power so profound it threatened to shatter his understanding of reality.
He couldn't even begin to fathom it. The potential, both magnificent and terrifying, left him reeling. He thought it was someone whose cultivation level is extremely high, or maybe even an immortal was inside this fragment.
But it was all done by this artifact fragment. If a fragment is capable of all doing this, then what about the complete artifact?
What grade will that artifact be? Su Kang is not even able to think about the extent of the power of the complete artifact.
"You are the spirit of the original artifact?" Su Kang asked in a surprised voice.
An artifact spirit survived even when that artifact is broken.
It's hard to imagine something like this even possible.
"I know nothing of any original artifact, " the voice rasped, each syllable a metallic scrape against his nerves.
"I am a spirit born of this artifact."
Su Kang frowned, the fragment's words twisting themselves into knots in his mind.
"Born from this artifact?" But isn't that just a fragment of the original artifact? Kng asked with confusion.
"Sincece my awakening, this form… has been my totality."
This spirit didn't even have any form unlike other artifact spirits that can be seen.
Su Kang is confused, but he didn't try to ask more about this topic.
He asked, "Then how should I address you, senior?"
"You can decide this yourself; I have no opinion," replied the artifact in the same metallic tone.
"Then can you tell me more about the powers that you gave me in detail?"
Su Kang asked the most important question that he was worried about.
"When I arrived in this world after travelling in space cracks, I was protecting your soul with the power of destiny; otherwise, it wouldn't be possible for a mortal soul to survive that journey."
"I used a lot of power of destiny in that journey, so I was looking for a place where the destiny of heaven and earth was gathered in huge amounts to recover."
"After that, I released your soul after nurturing it with my energy."
"That energy allowed your soul to reincarnate in possibly the best circumstances, like family, talent, environment, and others. But some of my power was in your soul."
"When your destiny will start losing favor and your death is near, then that power in your soul will help you to see one of the most probable future events related to your bad fortune."
"In this way you can avoid your death for one time." The spirit gave Su Kang a full picture of everything.
He realized he was afraid of the fragment in the beginning.
During the entire conversation he was still near the gate of his room.
After hearing about it from the spirit, he has a deep understanding of his reincarnation, and he was thankful for the favor he received from the spirit.
That power allowed him this life, good talent, and even a harmonious family.
Even that little anger and blame for killing him vanished from his heart.
Its power took his life in the past, and now that same power allowed him to change his destiny.
He was once again given a chance to change that tragic ending, and he is extremely grateful for this opportunity.
He heard someone coming from outside and ended the conversation. He went to the table to put the fragment into his space ring.
Soon he heard the call and opened the door.
...
...
The summons from his father, an invitation to dinner, offered a welcome respite from the swirling chaos in his mind. He walked towards the family's dining hall, the crisp night air a soothing balm against his skin.
Overhead, a light blue moon, impossibly large, cast an ethereal glow across the meticulously manicured gardens. The scent of night-blooming jasmine hung heavy in the air, mingling with the savory aroma of roasting meat that wafted from within.
He entered the hall, the familiar warmth of family and tradition momentarily eclipsing the weight of his secrets.
There were already two people sitting there. He waved his hands towards them and sat down next to them.
They are Su Lang and Su Cheng.
He asked about two sisters. Su Lang said, "They have to attend an alchemy lecture in the morning, so they returned back to the sect."
Su Kang nodded after hearing this.
They talked among themselves, and Su Kang and Su Cheng teased Su Lang about his love.
Su Lang was 30 years old and a late-stage foundation-building cultivator. His cultivation talent was above average, and his looks were above average too.
Most of the cultivators are not bad-looking. As long as their bone structure is normal and their appearance and body can be further improved.
Even if they had average looks, they were still better than average mortals.
Su Lang was looking at both of them with a defeated expression.
He knows that the next family head will probably be his elder brother, so he should help the family by receiving a marriage proposal from any influential family. But he is not ready for it yet.
Soon a commotion followed, and the trio stopped talking. They looked towards the gate and saw a couple walking towards the table.
The man was wearing a red-yellow robe. He looks good with masculine features of a warrior.
His skin is light brown, and he looks someone like in his mid-thirties. He is Su Chen, father of Su Kang.
His parents took their seat, and they started serving dinner.
His father is in a good mood.
He looked at Su Kang and said,
"Since you decided to stay, did you inform the sect about this decision?"
Su Kang said, "Not yet; I will personally visit them tomorrow to inform them about my decision."
"Good, since you decided on this, everything is fine," his father replied.
It was last night that he tried to stop his son from going to war against demon cultivators. No matter how he looked at it, this decision was taken rashly without much thought behind it.
Demon cultivators are usually stronger than average cultivators. Their fighting power is always higher than their cultivation level. In this war, many demon cultivators are already fighting.
Thinking about his son going there without mastering any superpowers was not something he could swallow easily.
Su Kang saw his father and mother were both in a good mood and thought something.
"Father, I have to tell you something later," Su Kang said.
His father nodded in agreement without much thought.
The conversation flowed around him, a familiar current of family business and clan politics. Su Kang listened politely, his mind preoccupied with the weight of the fragment and the knowledge it held.
He picked at his food, the flavors of the meticulously prepared dishes lost on his distracted palate. Once the meal concluded, his brothers excused themselves, their footsteps echoing softly in the now-empty hall.
He lingered, exchanging a few words with his father before rising to leave. As his eyes met both his parents', words tumbled from him.
"Father, there's something I've just confirmed—a rumor of a secret realm…"
He told his parents about a potential undiscovered secret realm. This was the same realm where he was supposed to find that fragment.
This secret realm is full of spiritual plants and herbs. In Jiang state, alchemists are most in demand compared to other professionals.
Jiang state did not have any good alchemist. This area lacks any alchemical inheritance. Even pill-formation elixirs are extremely hard to find here.
Most of the high-quality pills are imported through Pill Tower. They were controlling numbers of pill formation experts by allocating limited numbers of pill formation elixirs.
That secret realm has many spiritual plants, and some of them are necessary for pill formation elixirs.
As long as they can produce a third-level alchemist or hire someone, they can get the Pill Formation Elixir in the future without any problem.
As long as they can move those spiritual plants silently without causing any damage to them, then everything will be fine later.
He returned back to his room.
He took out the fragment and sat down. Tonight he is going to hold a long discussion about his future planning with the spirit.